Letters
by Sneezy
Summary: Sometimes writing letters is the best way to communicate. AU after ep90ish. NaruHina.
1. Chapter 1

**Letters**

A Naruto divergence / AU

Disclaimer: I don't own the series; I'm just finger painting with someone else's palette.

This fic diverges from cannon in anime episode 95/96 (not certain where that is in the manga… somewhere in the 170's?) when Tsunade and the others are fighting Orochimaru and Kabuto. In cannon, Kabuto almost kills Naruto, but he revives quickly. Here, he doesn't revive until after Orochimaru and Kabuto take off, thinking he's dead.

**Chapter 1 – Death**

"You snake bastard!" she screamed, collapsing to her knees. Angry tears rolled down her cheeks.

She'd fought her hardest. She'd dared to believe in something again, and once again, she had failed.

Naruto had been killed, and Orochimaru had escaped.

"Tsunade-sama…" whispered her attendant, Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama…"

And she heard a weak gasp. Brushing the tears out of her eyes, she turned, and saw that the chest of Uzumaki Naruto had started to move.

"Tsunade-sama, you healed him. You saved him!" said Shizune.

She collapsed near him, and cried tears of happiness. She hadn't failed after all.

Later on, as they hid in an abandoned cabin deep in the woods near the town, they were all able to see the blessing hidden in the events that had transpired.

Well, some of them could.

"Hey, but I wanted some ramen, I'm starving! What the heck are we doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" He might have felt weak as a fox kit at that moment, but he still had his priorities.

"Naruto, you idiot, listen up for just one second," his sensei ground out. "Kabuto and Orochimaru think you're dead, correct?"

"Yeah, and I would have been too, if it weren't for the old lady. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'll spell it out slowly. They were going to hunt you down and kill you. Now they think you're dead, they won't come looking for you. So, we hide out, train hard, and return to Konoha when I say you're ready to defend yourself. It's a perfect opportunity!"

"Ahh… but won't we have to tell people that I'm dead?"

"Well, we'll say you died a hero, saving me or something, is that ok with you?" interjected Tsunade.

"Cool. But … ummm… won't some people be sad?" asked Naruto.

"Don't worry kid, I'm sure you'll get plenty of mourners," said Tsunade with a grin.

"One or two people, like Kakashi, we'll tell. But the more who know, the greater the danger that we'll be discovered in our deception," added Jiraiya.

"You'll stay here with me, Naruto," said Shizune. "I'll help you disguise yourself so you'll be less physically obvious. In a couple weeks Jiraiya will leave Konoha and return to start your training."

"Ummm… ok," said Naruto. "Hey… hey… Ero-Sennin?"

"Don't call me that!"

"So how about that ramen, huh?"

The reaction in Konoha to the news was mixed.

It became an open secret that Naruto had been the container for the demon fox Kyubei. If he was dead, there was no need for the adults to conceal the fact anymore.

For the gennin teams and academy members, it was a reminder that regardless of how invulnerable they felt, even the strongest of them could die.

Sakura cried for him. He had been so earnest, and now it appeared that his dream was never going to come true.

Sasuke said that it just showed the weakness of caring for others, but for some reason he no longer had any desire to go to Orochimaru, even if it was to gain more power.

For most, it was good news. For a few, there was sadness, but they recovered and moved on.

For one, there was no recovery.

A month after the arrival of Tsunade, Sakura was practicing her healing skills with her new mentor.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama?" she asked at the end of their training.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"I was wondering if you could talk to someone," Sakura asked.

"Who? And about what?" asked Tsunade.

"Well, Tenten told me that Hyuga Neji had told her that his cousin was still really upset about Naruto," she said.

"Still upset about him? Did she know him well?" Tsunade asked, a bit surprised. Naruto hadn't mentioned anything.

"I'm really not sure," said Sakura, "but I think maybe she had a bit of a crush on him or something."

"Why do you think I should talk to her?" asked Tsunade.

"Well, I mean, Naruto did… I mean, you were there. Maybe it would help her," she said.

"If you think it would make a difference, I guess she can come see me. I'll send someone to get her," said Tsunade.

After Sakura left, Tsunade had different thoughts though.

"Great, just what I need. Giving some little weeping girl a shoulder to cry on about her super serious academy crush," she grumbled. "And of course Naruto, the idiot, didn't think to mention it. He probably had no idea."

She sighed.

"Ah well, I might as well get her over here after dinner. No where did I stash that sake? Shizune! Where are you?"

A few hours later, Hyuga Hinata was shown into her office, and stood motionless in the middle of the floor.

"Hyuga Hinata?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the girl replied. It was barely a whisper. She continued to stand with her head bowed.

Tsunade started, got up and walked over to the tiny figure, cradled the girl's chin in her hand, and lifted up.

Her face was gaunt, and her eyes were lifeless. A heavy purple bruise marred one of her cheek bones.

"Sakura was wrong," thought Tsunade. "She didn't have a crush on the boy, she loved him."

"Come over here, child," Tsunade said, and led the unresisting girl over to a chair, sat down, and sat Hinata down on her lap.

"You cared for Naruto very much, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes," Hinata managed, and then started to cry. She didn't sob, or make any noise. Tears just poured out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

Tsunade sighed, and pulled the crying girl against her. It would seem silly to other people. The girl was only thirteen, but Tsunade could see the extent of the pain in her eyes.

"I know that pain," she thought, and remembered, just for an instant, holding the dead body of her love against her in the chilling rain.

"It might not be in the plan, but I have to do something. She's going to die otherwise, and I'm certain Naruto wouldn't accept that as a consequence of hiding the fact that he's ok," she thought.

Tsunade freed her arms, and formed a complex series of hand seals. She knew the two of them would be totally isolated from anyone hearing them by the barrier she'd just erected.

"Child, you have to listen to me," she said to Hinata. "This is a great secret, and you must tell nobody else at all."

She waited for a faint nod from Hinata to indicate she'd heard her.

"I'm sorry I didn't know how you felt, and tell you sooner, but Naruto isn't dead. He's in hiding right now."

Hinata jerked her head up to look Tsunade in the eyes.

"Not dead?" she asked, her eyes huge with disbelief.

"No Hinata, he's very much alive."

Hinata looked her in the eye for one second unbelieving, and then buried her face in Tsunade's shoulder and started to cry and sob uncontrollably.

Tsunade stroked the back of Hinata's head, and knew that she'd made the right choice.

After the girl had cried herself to sleep, Tsunade carried her to the hospital. She could tell from carrying her that the girl was malnourished, and from scanning her with the practiced eye of a medical ninja, it seemed clear that she had been beaten by someone.

The girl needed some bed rest, and she needed to have a word with the head of the Hyuga clan. Anyone who would starve and beat their own daughter was not someone Tsunade liked.

Two days later, Hinata opened her eyes for the first time since she'd fallen asleep in the office of the Hokage.

"I'm in bed, but where am I?" she thought. "I remember being in the office of the Hokage… she told me something about Naruto…"

It felt like a hand had clamped around her heart.

"Was it all a dream? I didn't care what happened to me, but now…" she peered around her room, trying to figure out where she way.

"I thought you would be waking up tonight, Hinata-chan," said Tsunade from her place next to the bed. She was leaning back in a chair, reading.

"Tsunade-sama… where am I?" asked Hinata.

Tsunade took the time to form a series of hand seals to prevent the conversation from carrying again, and then answered Hinata.

"You're in the hospital, and under my care now," said Tsunade. "And what you remember me saying about Naruto is absolutely right."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, and tears started to spill from her eyes again, even as a smile lit up her face.

"I have to emphasise that you should not tell anyone at all about this, Hinata," said Tsunade. "The problem is that it seems there are some powerful enemies out there who want to get their hands on Naruto, or more specifically on the chakra of the demon fox sealed within Naruto. You did hear about that, right?"

"Yes, some of the servants were talking about it, Tsunade-sama."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"No, Tsunade-sama," whispered Hinata. "I know why people treated Naruto as they did, now. But… I think... Naruto is still Naruto." She finished with her voice quiet, and with a faint blush painting her cheeks.

"Huh, this kid really does have it bad for the brat," thought Tsunade.

"The rest of the story you've heard about Naruto is basically true," said Tsunade. "Although he survived the fight, even though we all thought he was dead. So we decided to take advantage of the fact everyone thought he'd died to let him train in peace for a few years, and develop his strength."

"Now, we've told Kakashi, and Iruka, since we knew the two were close to him, and Kakashi might have figured things out anyway, being the smartass that he is," continued Tsunade, as she got up and started to pace around the room. "But it wasn't until I heard word from Sakura that you were in a bad way that we realised that someone else in town cared so much about the little punk," she said with a grin.

Hinata pulled the bedsheets up to cover part of her face, and started pushing her fingers together.

"So you can't tell anyone at all about this, ok?" said Tsunade. "Tell them we talked about things, and I told you how heroic he was… stuff like that… anyway, and you're ok with things now."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," whispered Hinata.

"And for heaven's sake, stop calling me that!" Tsunade blurted. "I've got you apprenticed to me now, so you'll be around here a lot."

"Yes, Tsunade-sa… Father… agreed to that?" Hinata asked.

"Well, I didn't give him much choice, when I saw what he'd done to you. Plus, I think you'll make a great medical nin. You've got the temperament for it, I think, and your bloodlimit will be a big advantage."

"Also," continued Tsunade, "it'll give you a reason to be around here while you're writing letters to Naruto."

"Write letters? To Naruto?" Hinata squeaked. She pulled the bedclothes up even further.

"Yup," said Tsunade with a grin. "I'll be totally open with you, I've thought up some reasons over the last couple days. See, I was planning on exchanging monthly reports with Jiraiya anyway to swap information and so on. We set up a system to do it before he left to go back and meet up with Naruto for his training. But I think you should send mail to Naruto as well. First, you can tell me what Naruto says is going on so I'm not just hearing bullshit from Jiraiya. Second, having contact with someone here will remind him of home, and keep his loyalty to Konoha strong over the years he'll be away. Third, you'll be a good balance for his abilities when he gets back, so we can put you on his team, and you'll already know about each other's strengths. And finally…" Tsunade paused.

"Yes?" asked Hinata.

"Finally, we can help you get your guy, ok?" said Tsunade, flashing a 'V' sign at her.

"….!" Hinata couldn't manage any sound at all in reply to that.

"Well, it'll give you a chance to get to know each other better, and I think you two will be cute together when you grow up," said Tsunade with a smirk. "Even if you just end up friends, you'll be a good influence on each other."

"Anyway," Tsunade continued, "rest up for a few more days, ok? Get better, and get ready for training. I'll be working with you and Sakura at the same time, and I won't be taking it easy on you! I'll get someone to bring you some writing paper and stuff in the morning so you can get started on your first letter."

Tsunade cancelled her sound barrier, and sauntered out the door with an easy wave to Hinata. "Ja ne!"

Hinata lay in bed motionless, but eventually rolled over, closed her eyes, and hugged her pillow.

"So much happiness," she thought. "I didn't think it was possible. This last month was… so dark… but now… I don't even know if Naruto will even want letters from a silly girl like me, but I'll keep writing him."

"And maybe, he'll write me back."

"Naruto-kun…"

She tried to get back to sleep, but simply couldn't. When the morning came, she ate a huge breakfast, at least by her standards, took the writing supplies a nurse brought her, and went to sit in a sunny sitting room she knew about on the third floor. She wrapped a warm quilt around her shoulders, and settled down in the deep, comfortable chair.

Then she started to write.

**Notes:**

Ok, you might have realised by now that all this cunning development is really just an excuse for a WAFF-a-thon of dire proportions.

See, I was thinking about how Hinata and Naruto could really communicate with each other. They manage it a few times in the series, but writing letters forces Naruto to slow down, consider what he's saying, and listen to what she's saying. At the same time, Hinata can probably write things that she'd find it very difficult to say face to face. So really, like Tsunade said, it's a perfect chance to get to know each other.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – A First**

Two hours later, Hinata was still sitting wrapped up in a comfortable chair in a sitting room on the third floor of the hospital, and she hadn't written anything yet.

"Goodness," thought Hinata to herself, "I had no idea that writing a letter could be so difficult."

Of course it wasn't the writing itself. Her writing was neat, crisp, and elegent. It was one thing that even her father had never faulted her on. It was the question of what to say.

"I don't want to be… forward… or anything like that. It's strange enough that I'm writing to him at all," she thought. "I don't want to bore him, or waste his time, but… I really want him to write back. It's one thing to know he's alive, but to read something he'd written to me would be… wonderful."

She sighed, shifted around, got up, sat down, and fidgeted a bit with the pen.

"I don't want to give him a bad impression… or be something that I'm not… or… Oooohhhhhh! Hyuga Hinata! You're thinking yourself around in circles. Maybe I should think about what sort of letter he'd want to get."

Hinata's mind wandered…

"Dear Naruto," she thought, "I've been training hard 20 hours a day…"

"Dear Naruto, I learned a new technique today…"

"Dear Naruto, I ate some great ramen for lunch…"

"Dear Naruto, I've been a zombie for the last month when I thought you were dead because I'm..."

She sighed.

"He doesn't want to get some letter filled with depressed moaning from me. But… I feel most of all that he would want me to be honest. After all, our ninja way is to not go back on our word, so the same must be true with what I write."

A blush slowly formed on her cheeks, and steadily got worse.

"Our ninja way… when I think of it like that, we almost seem like… the two of us together…"

Hyuga Hinata found herself suppressing an urge to giggle out loud.

Much later in the day, after dinner had been eaten, Hinata was sitting in her hospital bed with a pen in her hand and some blank paper on the tray across her lap.

"I wouldn't have guessed that writing a letter could be so tiring," thought Hinata, "I'm so sleepy! I guess all I can do now is write, not think about it too much, and hope it turns out. I'm glad that Tsunade still wouldn't allow visitors today. Anyone who saw me would probably think I'd gone mad… I've gone from being so terribly sad to… well… giddy... in just one day. Tomorrow, I'll have to act for people though, so I should prepare for that. I better hurry up so I can get off to sleep then."

And to her surprise, she did.

_Naruto-kun,_

_Tsunade-sama has let me in on the secret, and told me that you are still alive. I was very, very relieved to hear that. She also wanted me to write you letters to let you know what is happening in Konoha while you are gone, so if there is anything you would like to know about, please ask._

_I am also about to start learning with Tsunade-sama to be a medical ninja. I think I will like being able to help people with their injuries. I am a bit nervous, because I am sure training will be difficult, but I will try my hardest._

_I am sure that you are very busy, but if you have time, please write back._

_Hyuga Hinata_

Jiraiya sat in the hotel room staring at the notes Tsunade had sent to him. They'd exchanged a few before now when he'd arrived and sent Shizune back to Konoha, but the extra letter was new this time. He re-read part of Tsunade's note to him.

I had to change the plan a bit. Met up with a classmate of the brat's who was carrying a serious torch for him, and was still crushed a month after hearing he was dead. Hyuga heiress, no less. So I told her. She'll be writing letters to him. GET HIM TO WRITE BACK OR ELSE! Don't tell the brat she's crazy for him yet because she's shy and would probably explode. Let Naruto figure it out for himself. It'll be good for him. Also, we should try to encourage things between them. Then, if worst comes to worst then we'll have the girl and use her to help control Kyubei.

"She's a cold woman, thinking that far ahead," Jiraiya thought. "She is Hokage now, so I suppose she has to be about some things that could threaten Konoha.

"Hey old man," shouted Naruto from the door, just back from his afternoon training. "What's up?"

"I just got another message from Tsunade-hime," said Jiraiya, choosing not to object this time to being called old man. It was a little better than ero-sennin, after all. "This one had something in it for you as well. I'll give you a pen and paper so you can write back after dinner."

He passed Hinata's letter over to Naruto

Naruto opened the letter, and started reading it.

"Hinata?" he muttered. He read the letter through again and paused, looking up at the ceiling.

Naruto was still looking thoughtful as he ate dinner, but happy. When he'd finished clearing up the dishes, he took the pen and paper Jiraiya offered him, and sat down in a corner to write.

It didn't take long for him to write a reply, and later that night after Naruto was asleep, Jiraiya sneaked a look at it before sending it on its way back to Tsunade with his report.

_Hey Hinata!_

_First time I got a letter from anyone, so it was cool to get one from you. I'm happy I'm not dead as well (ha ha)._

_How are Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke? Tsunade could heal them, right?_

_I'm training hard. I remember that healing stuff you gave me was really good, so I'm sure you'll be great at it. Plus you work hard, and that's good._

_Gotta go and sleep._

_Naruto_

"Hmm, elegent prose, it isn't," thought Jiraiya. "Still, it's unmistakably him. Oh well, I hope Tsunade knows what she's getting into with this."

And he sent the letter, and his report to Tsunade, on its way back to Konoha.

For Hinata, the two days that passed after she wrote her first letter to Naruto were not restful ones. She was constantly tormented with her own doubts. Would he want to write back to her? How selfish of her was it to expect him to write when she was sure he was training hard every single day? Was he really alive, or was Tsunade just going to forge a few letters to make her feel better?

"I feel ashamed for even doubting Tsunade-sama one bit, but… for him to be alive… it seems more than I deserve, somehow," she thought.

As for the rest of her time, it was consumed with visitors. She had to act the part of someone just starting to recover from depression as well, not someone who'd miraculously had the reason for her depression removed totally.

Ten Ten had visited and brought a note from Neji apolagising for not visiting, but Hyuga Hizashi was still feeling a bit sore about having his heir effectively removed from his care.

Her team had all visited her at once and made enough noise that the nurses had been forced to come in and ask them to quiet down. Well to tell the truth it had been Kiba and Akamaru who were making all the noise, but still. She had asked Kurenai whether she would be doing missions with them when she had recovered more, but the structure the gennin teams would take was still not totally clear.

Late in the day after her training with Tsunade, Sakura had stopped by her room as well.

"Hi, Hinata… how are you feeling now," she asked.

"Umm… much better, thank you Sakura," Hinata said. "I… needed some rest, and talking to Tsunade-sama… helped me."

Hinata wiped a couple tears off her cheek. Her feelings of grief were still close enough that crying didn't take much acting talent at all.

"So I hear you'll be training with me now," said Sakura a bit awkwardly. She'd never spent much time interacting with the shy girl, and to tell the truth, her eyes had always freaked her out a bit. "You're already a month behind me, so you'll have to work really hard to even keep up."

"Yes, Sakura-sempai," said Hinata.

"Ha, you don't need to go that far, Hinata," said Sakura. On the inside though, she was smirking. It wasn't often that people were afforded that sort of respect by a Hyuga.

"But you are the senior apprentice, and… I'm sure I'll have to ask you for help with things…" said Hinata.

A silence fell over the room.

"You know," said Sakura eventually, "I feel sort of… humbled by you, Hinata."

"W… why?"

"Well here you are, more than a month after… well… you know," said Sakura. "And you still cry for him. It must have been… quite a crush you had on him."

Hinata shook her head once, her eyes hidden by her bangs as tears started to run down her cheeks again.

"No… Sakura-sempai," she said, and kept looking down at her bedsheets.

Sakura looked at the girl, surprised by her words, and not really understanding. After a few more minutes of silence, she excused herself and left Hinata alone with her thoughts.

"It isn't just a crush… does Naruto really mean so little to Sakura that she can't see what I do?"

Hinata sighed.

"I suppose I can't blame her. I don't really understand what she sees in Sasuke, after all."

Tsunade strolled into her room just then, and interrupted her.

"I saw the last of your guests leaving, so I thought I'd bring this over for you," Tsunade said with a smirk.

"What is it, Tsunade-sama?"

"Oh, just a letter for you from someone," she said, and watched the young girl's face travel through a series of expressions to end up somewhere near breathless anticipation.

She dropped the grubby little scroll on the bed, reached over and ruffled the girl's hair.

"Don't stay up too later writing a reply, ok? You need to get a good night's sleep again."

Tsunade walked out, and wandered off down a corridor, whistling quietly.

Meanwhile in the hospital room, Hinata was trying to steady her hands enough to roll the scroll open.

Eventually she did, and read the simple message he'd sent.

"I think… I'm not sure I've ever been quite this happy before," she thought. She clasped her hands hard together in front of her, her face rosy with delight.

"It couldn't be anyone else who wrote this, could it? Naruto-kun, you are alive… you really are!"

She flopped back on the bed and closed her eyes.

"Goodness… I can't start writing now. Who knows what I'd say?" she thought. "But in the morning, I'll write you again, Naruto-kun. I have to make you understand that you're going to keep getting letters from me, after all.

And eventually Hyuga Hinata fell asleep, a contented smile on her face.

**Notes:**

Well, more Hinata-centric WAFF. I think the next chapters will focus more on Naruto, and what he starts to think of this. Really, the first letter he probably just tossed off a reply without thinking much, but the second letter will produce a more considered reaction.

If you think I'm laying the WAFF on a bit thick, go read manga ch.98 again and glory in the cuteness of it.

I did realise that they wouldn't be putting their names in the letters to protect them from discovery, but I'm going to add them in anyway. The idea of writing 'N-kun' or something like that just seemed silly.

You might notice that Hinata's letters sound pretty stuffy. That's totally intentional... she's been taught to write official clan letters and such, not casual stuff like this. She should loosen up a bit after a while.

And yeah, the italics aren't really the ideal method of indicating the letters, but it was the only way that made sense to me, I suppose.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Considering**

Hinata didn't actually have a chance to write another letter until two days later. She'd started taking on some of her duties as one of the apprentices of Tsunade, and she'd also been occupied with moving in to her new apartment. She hadn't recovered all of her energy yet either, and each night she'd collapsed into bed vowing to write Naruto, but just thinking of him had made her feel warm enough that sleep was inevitable. As a result, it wasn't until the morning of the third day that she found time to write again.

_Hello Naruto,_

_I'm not sure if you expected another letter from me so soon. I hope it is not a bother for you, and does not take too much time out of your training._

_Tsunade-sama had no trouble healing Sasuke and Kakashi. Sakura was overjoyed to have both of them alright again. It was very difficult for her since she lost all of her team for a while. All three of them are doing well now. I do not know what Tsunade-sama's plans are for the Genin teams. They might be re-assigned, now that you are missing from their team._

_Rock Lee had been badly injured in the Chunnin exam, but Tsunade-sama healed him as well. She truly is wonderful. Although I have just started training with her, I think I can learn a lot. Thank you for your encouragement in your last letter as well._

_I have just moved into a small apartment here at the hospital on my own. Tsunade-sama felt it would make my training easier. It feels odd, being away from where I have lived all my life, and living on my own. Sometimes it seems a bit lonely._

_Thank you for writing back so quickly last time. I do not want to be a bother though, so reply only if you have time._

_I hope you are well,_

_Hyuga Hinata_

She finished off the letter and looked it over.

"Hmmm… I hope Naruto-kun doesn't find it annoying to get a longer letter like this one," she thought. "I'd like to write even more to him. There's so much I want to tell. But I don't want to irritate him… bothering him like this. I better drop this off with Tsunade-sama though, so she can send it."

She got ready, and left her apartment ready to face a new day.

"Mornin' Hinata, how's it goin," asked Tsunade, with a bit of a groan. She obviously wasn't a morning person.

"Umm… well, if you could add this in with your report… to Jiraiya," she said, holding up the scroll, and looking down at her sandals.

"Ha, no problem, kid. Listen though: I'll be exchanging reports with Jiraiya once a week, ok? Any more than that, and our methods would become much easier to trace. So write as much as you like, and it'll get sent once a week. Of course, if I find out you're writing a book to him every week, I'll know I'm not giving you enough work," said Tsunade, with a grin.

"O...of course, Tsunade-sama."

"What did I say about calling me that, Hinata?"

"Oh! Sorry… ummm… Fifth Hokage Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade looked like she'd just bitten into a lemon, but then saw the tiny smile Hinata was giving her.

"Good girl," she said with a smile. "Keep it up though, and you'll be baby-sitting in the children's ward."

"Ahhh… of course… Tsunade-sensei," Hinata replied, a bit awkwardly. She felt very awkward about not using a more formal form of address, but baby-sitting held a special terror for her. She had found from experience that children just ignored her totally, and she was far too timid to deal with a louder trouble-maker.

Her day was over in a flash, with medical training in the morning, ninjitsu and taijutsu practice in the afternoon, and more study in the evening. She crawled into bed in the evening, exhausted, and began to think.

"Somewhere out there, Naruto is reading my letter. It might be a week or a month before I read his reply to me, but… it still feels good."

"Goodnight… Naruto-kun."

Meanwhile, far away in a cheap hotel room, Naruto was sleeping like a log. Jiraiya's training that day had been especially rough, and he had been exhausted.

"Huh, good thing the kid is worn out. Between recovering from his training, and working on the reply to this letter… he should be busy all day. So I should be able to do some reaserch… and he won't interrupt like he usually does. Ha! Jiraiya, you're a smart one for sure."

By the time Naruto woke up, it was almost lunchtime the next day.

"Gah… I can barely lift my head…"

"Oi… Ero-Sennin! Ero-Sennin! Huh? I guess he really is out."

"I guess he left me that scroll over there," thought Naruto. "I hope it isn't anything too hard… I know I have energy to spare usually, but he really wiped me out yesterday."

Naruto unrolled the scroll, and another, smaller scroll fell out on the bed. He read the first:

_Naruto,_

_There's instant ramen on the table, and a letter from Hinata. Take some time to write back, because you'll be back training non-stop for the next few days. Anyway, a good Hokage will spend a lot of time writing, and your first effort was awful, so think of writing as training as well. It's another thing you need to improve._

_See you tomorrow._

_Jiraiya-sama_

"Great! A day off, and ramen! Huh, and another letter," Naruto thought. "I guess he's right though. A lot of the time I saw the Hokage, he was doing paperwork. And Hinata's writing was way better than mine, I guess."

Naruto wandered out to get some real ramen with money from his frog wallet, and took Hinata's letter along with him. After ramen, and some sleep under a tree on the outskirts of town, he opened up the letter again.

"Writing practice as well," he sighed. "Becoming the Hokage seems sometimes to be very… troublesome." He laughed out loud, thinking of Shikamaru.

"But I probably won't get to see any of them for another couple years. I wonder how they're all doing… At least I can get important news from Hinata, but… I wonder if I'll have any friends when I show up again." He looked over her letter again.

He pulled out the paper and pen he'd brought with him, and started to write.

Unlike the first time he wrote, it took several tries to get the letter right. Sometimes he realised that he wasn't making sense, and others the writing was just too horrible compared to Hinata's for him to feel comfortable sending it.

He eventually wrote something he didn't feel was too bad, folded it up, sealed it, and put it ready to be sent by Jiraiya. As he drifted off to sleep that night, he found himself thinking of her.

_Hi again Hinata!_

_I'm glad that everyone is ok. It's sort of sad though, that our team is breaking up. I guess it only makes sense, since I'll probably be away for a while, and I guess most people don't even know I'm alive._

_Don't worry, Jiraiya has taught me how to make a light with chakra, so while I'm writing this I'm working on my chakra control. He said the two of us might be on a team when I get back there, so we'll be getting all the coolest missions, right? You'll be really strong too, 'cause you said you'd work hard, so I know you will. I'm fine, even if training is hard, and I'm sore at the end of the day sometimes._

_I lived on my own for years. It can be lonely sometimes I guess, but you can do what you want to do. I feel kinda like that being outside Konoha, and Jiraiya isn't always around. So stop saying you're sorry for writing, because I like getting letters from you._

_I hope you're ok too now after Neji hurt you pretty bad._

_Naruto_

He woke up the next day, and threw himself into training once again. It would be a couple weeks before he saw her reply, but he found that he was looking forward to it.

Maybe he'd tell her the next time he wrote.

**Omake:**

Hinata walked into Tsunade's office, her latest reply to Naruto clutched in her hand.

"You got your letter there, kid?" Tsunade said with a grin.

"Yes, teacher," she replied, and handed the scroll over.

Hinata turned to go, but hesitated at the door.

"Ano, Tsunade-sensei?" she asked. "How do you send the letters, anyway?"

"Huh, well I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you saw," said Tsunade. "Very well, marvel at the splendour of…" she performed a series of hand seals and there was a puff of smoke.

A small slug sat on her desk, wearing a postman's hat and carrying a mail bag.

"Slug-mail," said Tsuande. "Sort of like snail mail, but without the shell." She was surprised by a crash, and looked around to see Hinata lying on the ground.

"Hmmm, what's up with her?"

**Author's note:**

I'm trying not to go too fast with the letters, since I think it's reasonable that they would establish a friendship first, before moving on. I think both of them have been hurt enough by other people that they would need to feel pretty sure about things before risking more. But more about that later, I guess.

The omake is just something I thought of while writing. I have some others, so I might add them after other chapters.

BTW thanks for the reviews people, especially the plaintive asking for additional chapters. It kicked my butt enough that I actually did something about it. And while I'm at it, I guess I should work on the other fics too... And I know, I'm sorry... shortness and all that.


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